Indian Decorative Boxes

An unusually large stag horn veneered sandal wood sewing box from Vizagapatam, India. This large, fitted box in the Regency taste has tapered sides and a two-tiered sloped lid, all c...

Impressive antique Anglo Indian lidded box handcrafted in indigenous hardwoods clad in tortoise shell and decorated with elaborate lacy bone designs, featuring an etched and painted ...

Charming petite antique Anglo Indian lidded box handcrafted in indigenous hardwoods clad in tortoise shell and decorated with elaborate lacy bone designs, featuring an etched and pai...

A stunning mid century modern brass shell-form box, masterfully cast in a richly patinated golden brass. This exquisite piece showcases a naturalistic scallop shell motif with deeply...

A stunning camel bone, ebony and metal inlaid sadeli work box with portable writing desk, Bombay, circa 1850. The sandalwood body of faceted rec...

Exquisitely crafted early 20th century Anglo Indian micro mosaic Sadeli box with gorgeous antique Persian geometric pattern. The finely detailed box featu...

This fine Regency period quill work, bone, ivory & sandalwood sewing box with intact interior w sewing implements.

Decorative Mughal Raj Vizagapatam Carved Veneered Bone Jewelry Rectangular shape Box. Vintage Asian lidded box crafted with bone finely engraved and hand painted in black with geometric Moorish designs. Delightful Anglo Indian footed box crafted with an intricate patterned polished bone inlay mosaic over a wood frame. Handmade in Vizagapatam, India, mid 20th century. Elegant intricate pattern. A true work of Islamic artwork...

Impressive antique Anglo Indian lidded box handcrafted in indigenous hardwoods clad in tortoise shell and decorated with elaborate lacy bone designs, featuring an etched and painted ...

Collection of 19th Century Kashmiri Objects A beautiful selection of late 19th Century hand crafted Kashmiri objects. This collection includes a tobacco jar, pepper shaker, cigar b...

A charming vintage Kashmiri heart-shaped paper mâché box, exquisitely hand-painted with vibrant floral decorations. This piece exemplifies the traditio...

An unusually large stag horn veneered sandal wood sewing box from Vizagapatam, India. This large, fitted box in the Regency taste has tapered sides and a two-tiered sloped lid, all c...

Large Anglo Indian Moorish Islamic style micro mosaic inlaid jewelry box with lid. Intricate inlaid Anglo Persian box with floral and geometric Moorish Sadeli design in an hexagonal shape form with micro mosaic marquetry, very fine artwork. Museum collector piece like the one in Doris Duke Islamic Art Museum. The repeating geometric patterns of Sadeli Mosaic are what give it beauty and richness. This decorative technique is a type of micro mosaic featuring repeating geometric patterns. Dimensions: H: 5 in : 12 in W x 12 in. D. Circa 1950s. Sadeli mosaic art is a highly skilled craft, it has had a long history in India and the Middle East with early examples dating back to the 16th century. In the 1800s, it became popular as a decoration on a variety of boxes, card cases, and chess boards imported from India. Since Bombay became a center of making them, they became known as Bombay boxes. The ancient art of Sadeli Mosaic is said to have been introduced from Shiraz in Persia via Sind to Bombay, a long time before Indian boxes appeared. The designs on early boxes look deceptively simple. The fact is they emerged from a culture which had mastered geometry and understood how to generate a pattern from a set number of points. The patterns are so harmoniously combined that their incredible complexity isn’t immediately apparent to the viewer. Will look great in a Moroccan decor...

Vintage Moorish Mughal Raj jewelry box inlaid with semi-precious agate stones and covered with silvered metal filigree. Moorish Middle East jewelry...

An exquisite Indian Koftgari work box, or jewelry box, circa 1900, in oval shape. Featuring very fine, gold thread decoration with three silvered bun feet and a silvered base. The li...

Anglo-Indian penwork decorated veneered sandalwood box in the Regency taste, the two-tier sloped lid with a fluted carved upper tier above a smooth lower tier with penwork border and...

Charming Anglo Indian box crafted in tropical hardwood. Clad in tessellated bone and hand decorated with shrubbery, tools and windows.

A very attractive vintage inlaid rosewood Indian jewelry box. The hinged box made is from solid figured rosewood and finely and is sumptuously inla...

Charming petite antique Anglo Indian lidded box handcrafted in indigenous hardwoods clad in tortoise shell and decorated with elaborate lacy bone designs, featuring an etched and pai...

Beautiful handcrafted decorative round tinned copper Mughal Indian box with lid, latch and handle. Antique South Asian Mughal Round Tinned Copper Box with L...

Impressive Anglo Indian box crafted in mahogany and clad in tortoise shell decorated with bone straps, carved and painted floral panels, and paw feet. The inside has a mirror and bon...

Late 19th c. early 20th c. Persian Footed Wooden Round Jewelry Box. Antique rare in round shape large Persian wooden box with marquetry called "Sadeli" or "Khatam Kari" with exquisit...

This lovely small round 2 part box is an early piece of the designs of MIchael Aram's work from the early 90's. It is a tooled design silver metal on the top of the box with a black...

Indian intricately hand carved Mughal floral design solid teak wood jewelry box with hinged top, c. 1960's. Ornate carving on top and all four sides around.

Impressive antique Anglo Indian lap top desk crafted in quills and ebony decorated with bone dots. The surprising interior has multiple components featuring a felt writing surface, n...

A very attractive vintage inlaid rosewood Indian jewelry box. The hinged box made is from solid figured rosewood and finely and is sumptuously inla...

This exquisite Charoite Box (3.5" x 4.25") is crafted from a rare and mesmerizing purple-hued mineral found exclusively in Siberia, Russia. The swirling patterns of deep violet, lave...

Antique Hindu brass decorative box. This is an antique Mughal style brass Indian ornate locking trinket box container. It has six compartments that lock ...

Vizagapatam box, India, 19th century. This highly decorative and unusual Anglo-Indian table box features rustic workmanship that adds to the character and charm of this unique Sout...

A BRASS MUGHAL INDIAN OVAL BETEL PANDAN BOX Northern India, early 19th century. Length: 5 1/4" in. (13.3 cm.) height: 3 1/4" in. (8.3 cm.) width: 4" in. (1...

Presenting a fabulously rare 18c Indo-Portuguese Vargueno mini cabinet. Extremely rare, highly important and desirable colonial piece ! It is an In...

Beautiful blue Lapis Lazuli and Carrara marble stone jewelry box. Created from genuine blue Lapis Lazuli, this box is low in profile and rectangular in form. This lovely jewelry or trinket box features a lid that fits onto its base. Both of which are completely covered in this beautiful blue stone. The interior of the box's base and lid, are created using Carrara marble. The lid features stays, which retrofit into the base, and allow the top to hold to the base without sliding or moving. The exterior is flanked with the gorgeous richly hued blue lapis lazuli. How we would style it: This blue stone box...

Contemporary India white camel bone box. Rectangular shaped tiles with slightly raised pyramid shaped top.

Inlaid table cabinet with six compartments and two handles. This is a beautifully decorated crafted box reflecting the craftsmanship and cultural influences of Goa during the colonia...

Fine antique Anglo-Indian hand carved wooden jewelry box inlaid. A Nice Mughal Anglo Indian Pen Box 19th Century The box with a Mughal I...

19th Century Persian Papier Mache Hand Painted Trinket Box Covered in hand painted detail and illustrations, this 19th Century Persian trinket...

A wonderful hand-painted papier-mâché box beautifully decorated in a blue and gold. Kashmir, India, circa turn of the century.

Vintage South Asian / Kashmir hand painted papier mâché box with removeable lid - featuring a profuse floral pattern over the top and sides set against a black lacquer background - h...

Anglo-Indian penwork decorated veneered sandalwood box in the Regency taste, the two-tier sloped lid with a fluted carved upper tier above a smooth lower tier with penwork border and...

Anglo-Indian Mother of Pearl Inlaid jewelry Box. 1940s Victorian Anglo Indian box in silver, bone and mother of pearl Inlaid. An elegant Anglo Indian bon...

Vintage Mid Century Moorish Sajai Box Inlaid with Agate Semi precious Stones box with semi-precious stones. Made in India, circa 1950. The box measures 1 inches high x 3 inches in di...

19th Century Hoshiarpur Inlaid Writing Box Quite simply, this is a stunning example of a 19th Century hand crafted Hoshiarpur inlaid writing box. The craftsmanship is quite amazing ...

Beautiful hand-crafted polished brass footed box with with lid, latch and handle intricately hand-hammered with geometric designs and pierced with holes. Vintage pierced decorative Mughal Indian style brass box from India...

Handmade Vintage Wooden Khatam Indo Persian Pill Box. Small Persian marquetry wood trinket box with star pattern. Good condition with very slight signs of use. 2 in x 1.5 in x 1 in H. Circa 1930s. About Indo-Persian Moorish Style Khatam Sadeli Jewelry Box...

A beautifully decorated Indian metal box with a stone of amber on the top. 1920s or earlier There once was a fabric inside but it has disintegrated you can see it, all of the fibers ...

Decorative Box for Cigarettes in wood brown color India

This is a fine antique shotgun carry case. An Indian State Railway gun box in teak and brass, dating to the late Victorian period, circa 1900. Rich with historic charm and superb cra...

PRESENTING A LOVELY 19C Anglo Indian Highly Carved Sadeli Mosaic Inlaid Sewing Box. Made in Bombay, India, circa 1880. The box is made of sandalwood with highly carved raised teak wood panels on all sides, depicting temple scenes, animals and foliage. The box is in a sarcophagus form. It is edged in bone (and we can tell it is bone and not ivory, from the color and evidence of capillaries, which are not found in ivory), and banded with Bombay Sadeli mosaic and ebony veneer. The lid opens to reveal a removable tray with various open compartments and lidded compartments. 5 lidded compartments, 1 unlidded compartment and 8 holders for thimbles, etc The tray lifts to reveal a blue velvet (original) lined section, for storing jewelry etc, with sections for collars etc. The inside of the lid has a removable mirror (the mirror is missing on this one but can easily be replaced). Behind the mirror is the original green velvet lining. It has its original brass carry handles on the sides and sits on 4 silvered button feet (of recent origin). Some repairs to the exterior and condition issues (priced accordingly), but still a LOVELY COLLECTIBLE box! These boxes were made by superb Indian craftsmen, specifically for sale to the ruling British elite. These types of boxes, carved padouk and sandalwood, (whilst beautiful and superbly crafted) were of a lesser quality, than the more profusely and intricately mosaic inlay, tortoiseshell and ivory boxes, made for the British ‘Upper Classes’ in the areas of Bombay and Vizagapatam. These type of boxes were much more affordable back in 1880 (and indeed today) and would probably have been bought by mid-level diplomats, civil servants or visitors. Sewing boxes (in general), were in EVERY Victorian home in Britain in the 19th century and like other boxes etc were ‘status symbols’ of your place in society! The more ornate the box, the more ‘Upper Class’ you were! SADELI MOSAIC: “Anglo Indian boxes were made in India for the English residents from the early part of the 18th century. They were brought back or sent back to England usually by the people who had commissioned them. From the beginning of the nineteenth century they were imported more commercially, although not in any significant numbers until the middle decades. They were very highly valued, especially the early ones, to the extent that the designs were copied on late 19th and early 20th century tins. The ancient art of Sadeli Mosaic is said to have been introduced from Shiraz in Persia via Sind to Bombay, a long time before the Anglo Indian boxes were made. It was a technique, which required a high degree of skill and patience. It was executed very lavishly, in that the frequent cuts wasted a great amount of the precious materials used. The workmanship was however more than commensurable to the value of the materials. Ivory, silver, pewter (or other metals), wood and Horn were cut into faceted rods which were bound together to form geometric patterns. When the glue has set, the rods were sliced in transverse sections. This gave the maker a number of angled circular pieces in the original pattern. Several variations of patterns could be achieved by combining the materials in different ways. The ivory was sometimes dyed green to give an extra color. The mosaic pieces in a combination of patterns, often separated by ivory, ebony, Horn or silver stringing were used to veneer sandalwood boxes. In the early boxes, which date from the turn of the 18th to the 19th century, there are large panels of mosaic covering tops and sides of boxes. It took incredible skill to cover such large areas without any shakes or wavering of the pattern. The corners and joins on these boxes are impeccably matched. The makers (reputed to be Persian) of Sadeli mosaic made in the first two decades of the 19th century displayed a total understanding of the qualities of the different materials they used. They combined substances, which can expand and contract according to atmospheric conditions with others, which are hard and unyielding. The result was a sharp definition of the lines and patterns, which made up the whole design. On the early boxes the designs look deceptively simple. The fact is, they emerged from a culture, which had mastered geometry and understood how to generate a pattern from a set number of points. The patterns are so harmoniously combined that their incredible complexity is not immediately apparent. The earliest Sadeli boxes...

Exquisite handcrafted white mother of pearl inlaid and hand carved lidded box. Small octagonal Anglo Indian decorative box intricately decorated with Moorish motif designs which hav...

PRESENTING AN EXTREMELY RARE AND HIGHLY IMPORTANT Indo-Persian Campaign Vanity Box from circa 1780-1800. Box inlaid with exquisite mosaic inlay. In the Indo-Persian style of mosaic with Islamic styles. The mosaic consists of green semi precious stone, bone, brass and pewter in star shaped geometric designs. Box opens up to reveal a travel mirror...

A large brass pandan box North India, 19th century The body with rounded profile and hinged raised lid with engraved and punched decoration centering ...

Anglo Indian carved mahogany cat with ebonized stripes and a curious expression, featuring a secret compartment on the bottom.

Elegant and finely crafted rosewood and ivory inlay traveller's writing desk from the late Mughal period of British India (circa 1825), on low bun feet. In excellent condition, with ...

This is a small antique apprentice-piece chest. An Anglo-Indian, carved teak Colonial keepsake box, dating to the late Victorian period, circa 1880....

Vintage Asian Silver Metal Hand-Carved Sitar Veena Box. Elevate your decor with this stunning vintage box, featuring intricate hand-carved designs of a sitar and peacock. The ornate ...

Handcrafted marquetry Moorish wood inlay micro mosaic with miniature hand painted scene. Handcrafted khatam wooden box with very delicate micro mosaic marquetry from the ancient Pers...

This is an antique Campaign correspondence box. An Anglo-Indian, teak and brass bound Colonial traveller's writing case, dating to the late Victorian period, circa 1880. Captivati...

A beautiful colorful decorative box with a lid created from Carrara marble and inlaid with a variety of semi-precious stones. The sides are inlaid with a variety of stones in abstrac...

Vintage Sajai metal and agate talisman box coin purse, Handmade in India, Handmade Sajai metal cross body purse with multi-colored agates and intric...

1920s Hand Painted East Indian Decorative Box. An antique Rajasthani Indian hand painted wood box, early 20th century. The box is handcrafted of wood and feature a hinged lid that can be opened and closed to access the contents inside. Hand painted colorful Indian box with lid depicting human figures and flowers. Style: Anglo Raj, Paint, Wood, Hand-Crafted Place of Origin: India. Anglo Raj Vintage Wooden Box Hand Painted Indian Chest Trinket 1920s. Large Trinket Box Folk Art Hand Painted Colorful Asian Jewellery Chest...

Beautiful blue Lapis Lazuli and Carrara marble stone jewelry box. Created from genuine blue Lapis Lazuli, this box is low in profile and rectangular in form. This lovely jewelry or trinket box features a lid that fits onto its base. Both of which are completely covered in this beautiful blue stone. The interior of the box's base and lid, are created using Carrara marble. The lid features stays, which retrofit into the base, and allow the top to hold to the base without sliding or moving. The exterior is flanked with the gorgeous richly hued blue lapis lazuli. How we would style it: This blue stone box...

Charming Anglo Indian box crafted in tropical hardwood. Clad in tessellated bone and hand decorated with shrubbery, tools and windows.

Rectangular penwork decorated veneer on sandalwood box. The top with a double border centering a floral cartouche, the four sides with wide leafy borders to top and bottom. Fitted wi...

PRESENTING A GORGEOUS 19C Anglo Indian Highly Carved Sadeli Mosaic Sarcophagus Sewing Box. Made in Bombay, India circa 1860-80. Box made of sandalwood with highly carved teak wood reliefs and panels on all sides. Edged with bone and ebony veneers and glorious sadeli mosaic, made from tiny pieces of faux ivory, pewter, green semi-precious stone. The box is in a sarcophagus form with domed lid. The original brass carry handles are on the sides. The interior is in great condition and consists of a removeable mirror under the lid portion, with the original red velvet lining behind it. The base is removeable and contains a number of lidded compartments. 6 of the interior lids on the base, are each inlaid with sadeli mosaic banding. The rest are also carved and chased. The interior is fully complete with 7 lidded faux ivory/bone, thread canisters with sadeli domes and the original bone thimble. The box sits on 4 brass ball or bun feet with the original velvet lining on the base. Some minor repairs and losses, but this box is fully complete. This is ‘rare’ as many of these boxes have not survived in such condition! Included in the sale are 2 photos that were in the box (under the base tray). Interestingly, one of them is a view of downtown Nassau, New Providence (Bermuda) from the early 20C and stamped on the rear. What a ‘journey’ this piece has made! Made in India … travelled to Bermuda, probably via Britain … back to Ireland (where we bought it) …. then to Texas! These boxes were made by superb Indian craftsmen, specifically for sale to the ruling British elite. These types of boxes, carved padouk and sandalwood, (whilst beautiful and superbly crafted) were of a lesser quality, than the more profusely and intricately mosaic inlay, tortoiseshell and ivory boxes, made for the British ‘Upper Classes’ in the areas of Bombay and Vizagapatam. These type of boxes were much more affordable back in 1880 (and indeed today) and would probably have been bought by mid-level diplomats, civil servants or visitors. Sewing boxes (in general), were in EVERY Victorian home in Britain in the 19th Century and like other boxes etc were ‘status symbols’ of your place in society! The more ornate the box, the more ‘Upper Class’ you were! Of it’s type, this one, is one of the very higher quality one’s, than the norm! SADELI MOSAIC: “Anglo Indian boxes were made in India for the English residents from the early part of the 18th century. They were brought back or sent back to England usually by the people who had commissioned them. From the beginning of the nineteenth century they were imported more commercially, although not in any significant numbers until the middle decades. They were very highly valued, especially the early ones, to the extent that the designs were copied on late 19th and early 20th century tins. The ancient art of Sadeli Mosaic is said to have been introduced from Shiraz in Persia via Sind to Bombay, a long time before the Anglo Indian boxes were made. It was a technique, which required a high degree of skill and patience. It was executed very lavishly, in that the frequent cuts wasted a great amount of the precious materials used. The workmanship was however more than commensurable to the value of the materials. Ivory, silver, pewter (or other metals), wood and horn were cut into faceted rods which were bound together to form geometric patterns. When the glue has set, the rods were sliced in transverse sections. This gave the maker a number of angled circular pieces in the original pattern. Several variations of patterns could be achieved by combining the materials in different ways. The ivory was sometimes dyed green to give an extra color. The mosaic pieces in a combination of patterns, often separated by ivory, ebony, horn or silver stringing were used to veneer sandalwood boxes. In the early boxes, which date from the turn of the 18th to the 19th century, there are large panels of mosaic covering tops and sides of boxes. It took incredible skill to cover such large areas without any shakes or wavering of the pattern. The corners and joins on these boxes are impeccably matched. The makers (reputed to be Persian) of Sadeli mosaic made in the first two decades of the 19th century displayed a total understanding of the qualities of the different materials they used. They combined substances, which can expand and contract according to atmospheric conditions with others, which are hard and unyielding. The result was a sharp definition of the lines and patterns, which made up the whole design. On the early boxes the designs look deceptively simple. The fact is, they emerged from a culture, which had mastered geometry and understood how to generate a pattern from a set number of points. The patterns are so harmoniously combined that their incredible complexity is not immediately apparent. The earliest Sadeli boxes...